My goal is to help you manage the balance between work and your family and personal lives. I'll focus on creative solutions to conflicting demands, new strategies for helping people juggle responsibilities, and new trends and developments.

Monday, November 20, 2006

Thanksgiving and work

Thinking of leaving town early for Thanksgiving? Your employer might not be happy but your wallet will be. And, if you remain in town and find yourself stuck working on Friday, you may be pretty lonely.

The average cost of Thanksgiving holiday air travel has jumped to $434 – up 15% from last year, according to consulting firm Sabre Airline Solutions. However, increased costs aren’t discouraging Turkey Day flyers – Sabre says early bookings are up 42% over last year, meaning travelers are doing the advance planning needed to book a cheap seat. Monster.com says employers should take heed. For workers to snag a deal, many had to get creative and book flights for less popular travels days, or even extend their vacation. Only about 69% of employers give their workers Friday off, according to the Bureau of National Affairs, suggesting that the offices open on Black Friday might be more short-staffed than in previous years. My take: if you aren't doing a job in which it's critical to work on Friday, give your employees the day off and create some good will. They're not going to be focused much on work anyway.

2 Comments:

Anonymous said...

These are some good deal of info on Thanksgiving travel....thanks for your insights...this will be useful for many of us out there...and hey you can also find some info on travel at my Thanksgiving Blogas well...so visit it sometime and do share your thoughts....have a great Thanksgiving!!!

About this blog

Cindy Krischer Goodman writes The Balancing Act column for The Miami Herald. She has been a reporter and business columnist since 1994. The mother of three children, she brings her personal experiences to her beat. Cindy grew up in Miami and has a degree in journalism from University of Florida. Off the job, she exercises, reads, volunteers in schools, and cares for her children. Email her at cgoodman@miamiherald.com